1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pet feeding device for cats, dogs or similar domestic animals that is used with commercially available disposable paper plates or the like so that clean pet food plates are available to the animal for each feeding and the immediate floor area around the pet food plate is kept free of fragments of uneaten food.
2. Description of Prior Art
Various existing pet food feeding devices employing disposable liners or means to hold dishes, plates or bowls in place on a tray or platform attempt to solve the problem of easily feeding a pet and cleaning up afterwards.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,719 to Bruce discloses a pet feeding receptacle comprising a holder having a bowl shape for holding a quantity of bowl shaped liners that are removed after each use. Although it eliminates the need to wash the feeding dish, it requires a special liner that may not be readily available in retail outlets and may be more expensive than commercially available paper plates. It does not provide a tray to prevent uneaten food from falling onto the floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,813,509 issued to Bruno describes an animal feeding device in which a bowl is anchored to a mat so as to prevent overturning of the bowl. Although a mat is provided to prevent uneaten food from falling to the floor, it requires washing the pet food bowl.
While the devices above use disposable liners or bowls or a mat to anchor a bowl in place, the device according to the present invention departs from the art by providing a tray base having hooks to receive and anchor in place commonly available commercial paper plates or the like. The animal feeding plate is anchored in place, while the tray base provides a surface to receive uneaten scraps of food so they do not come in contact with the floor. The paper plates can easily be unsnapped and disposed of after each feeding.
The present invention fulfills the need for a pet feeding device allowing for the convenient use of disposable feeding receptacles and a means for avoidance of spillage of uneaten food on the floor.